Using the Sword

Cutting sin out of our lives

Today’s Through the Bible Reading: Number 25-26

Abbreviated Reading: Numbers 25:1 - 26:4

Today's reading prompts us to consider and ask, "how determined am I to draw close to God?" Today we find Israel uniting themselves with immorality, false gods and the Moabite women. Yikes! What a mess. Israel’s deliberate disobedience and belligerent behavior reaped the whirlwind. But God showed mercy because of Phinehas, who responded to the sin with an extreme measure (Numbers 25:10, 11).

What a picture of how we are to deal with the sin and compromise in our own hearts! Israel brought the worldly things right into God’s temple, but our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19, 20). We can look at this story and question whether we are bringing the ways of the world into our heart where all things are bare before God (Heb 4:13).

When God shines the light of His Word into our life and sin is exposed, we can either deliberately continue to bring it into His presence and suffer the consequences, or we can respond like Phinehas – with zeal and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph 6:17).

So dear Christian family… “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Rom 12:9And we know Jesus is GOOD!

Note: For further historical reference, see 1 Chronicles 7:14-29